(Mantodea) from Pelješac Peninsula, Southern Croatia

Entomol. Croat. 2014, Vol. 18. Num 1–2: 7–11

MANTIDS (MANTODEA) FROM PELJEŠAC PENINSULA, SOUTHERN CROATIA

Jerzy Romanowski and Mateusz Romanowski

Faculty of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Wóycickiego 1/3, 01-938, Warsaw, Poland [email protected]

Surveys for mantids were undertaken at 9 sites, located along the northern and southern coasts and in the interior of Pelješac Peninsula, southern Croatia. Sweep nettings and visual observations were carried out from 27 July 2013 till 8 August 2013. Five mantid species from four genera were observed, including Ameles cf. decolor (Charpentier, 1825), A. spallanzania (Rossi, 1792), Iris oratoria (Linnaeus, 1758), Mantis religiosa Linnaeus, 1758, and Empusa fasciata Brullé, 1832. The first exact records of the Mediterranean Mantis, I. oratoria in continental Croatia are reported. The need for a detailed study on the sympatric distribution of A. decolor and A. heldreichi in Croatia is addressed. Key words: Mantodea, Iris oratoria, faunistics, new records, Croatia, Bal- kan Peninsula

J. ROMANOWSKI i M. ROMANOWSKI: Bogomoljke (MANTODEA) na poluotoku Pelješcu (južna Hrvatska). Entomol. Croat. Vol. 18. Num. 1–2: 7–11 Istraživanja bogomoljki provedena su na 9 lokaliteta smještenih duž sje- verne i južne obale te unutrašnjosti poluotoka Pelješca (južna Hrvatska). Teh- nikom košnje pomoću entomološke mrežice i vizualnim opažanjima bogomoljke su proučavane od 27. srpnja do 8. kolovoza 2013. godine. Zabilježeno je 5 vrsta koje pripadaju u 4 roda, uključujući vrste Ameles cf. decolor (Charpentier, 1825), A. spallanzania (Rossi, 1792), Iris oratoria (Linnaeus, 1758), Mantis religiosa Linnaeus, 1758 I Empusa fasciata Brullé, 1832. U radu se navodi i prva točna evidencija mediteranske vrste bogomoljke I. oratoria u kontinentalnom dijelu Hrvatske. Potrebno je provesti detaljnija istraživanja kako bi se utvrdila sim- patrička rasprostranjenost vrsta A. decolor A. heldreichi u Hrvatskoj. Ključne riječi: Mantodea, Iris oratoria, faunistika, novi nalazi, Hrvatska, Balkanski poluotok

Introduction The suborder Mantodea Burmeister, 1838 includes over 2360 described species, out of which 127 species live in the Euro-Mediterranean area (Battiston et al., 2010). The mantid fauna of the Balkan Peninsula includes only 8 species and in this respect is remarkably poor compared with that of the Western Mediterranean (Kment, 2012). Increasing recognition of diversity of mantids in Mediterranean area (Batti-

Entomol. Croat. 2014, Vol. 18. Num 1–2: 7–11 J. ROMANOWSKI & M. ROMANOWSKI: Mantids (Mantodea) from Pelješac Peninsula, Southern Croatia

Fig. 1. Distribution of study sites at Pelješac Peninsula in southern Croatia during surveys in 2013. Numbers correspond to numbers of sites in Table 1. ston et al., 2010) was recently reflected in new records from the Balkan Peninsula (Jaskuła, 2014). However, data on the distribution and ecology of mantids in Croa- tia are incomplete: publications on the fauna of the former Yugoslavia (Us & Mat vejev, 1967) and Europe (Heller & Bohn, 2011) mostly lack details, and reports of recent surveys are rare (see Kment, 2012). In this paper we present results of surveys for mantids that were undertaken in Pelješac Peninsula in Dalmatia, southern Cro- atia, in summer 2013.

Materials and Methods We conducted field surveys from 27 July 2013 till 8 August 2013 at nine sites: (1) Baba Mtn 42° 58’ N, 17° 15’ E; (2) Divna 43° 01’ N, 17° 12’ E; (3) Duba Peljaška 43° 01’ N, 17° 10’ E; (4) Gornja Vrućica 42° 60’ N, 17° 15’ E; (5) Košarni Do 42° 58’ N, 17° 18’ E; (6) Kučište 42° 59’ N, 17° 06’ E; (7) Perna Bay 43° 01’ N, 17° 11’ E; (8) Perna camp 42° 58’ N, 17° 09’ E; (9) Donja Vrućica 43° 00’ N, 17° 13’ E. Sites were located

Entomol. Croat. 2014, Vol. 18. Num 1–2: 7–11 J. ROMANOWSKI & M. ROMANOWSKI: Mantids (Mantodea) from Pelješac Peninsula, Southern Croatia along northern (sites 2, 3, 7) and southern (6, 8) coasts and in the interior (1, 4, 5, 9) of Pelješac Peninsula (Fig. 1). At those sites sweep nettings and visual observations were carried out in the following habitats: olive orchards (sites 3, 9), pastures and grasslands (3, 4, 6, 9), coastal vegetation (2, 3, 7, 8), garrigue (1, 2, 4), maquis (mostly the edges along pathways and roads, 2, 3, 5) and developed areas (camps at 2 and 8). At two sites (2, 8) additional censuses for mantids attracted by light were conducted after dusk. All mantids swept were released at the place of catching; the photo documentation is available from authors on email request. Due to the diffi- culties in field identification of live specimens ofA. decolor and A. heldreichi (Battiston & Fontana, 2005, Oberteggr & Agabiti, 2012) we followed Kment (2012) in describing these specimens as A. cf. decolor.

Results and Discussion Altogether 106 individuals of five mantid species were recorded. The most nu- merous (48 individuals, including mostly very young nymphs, one adult female and one adult male) was Ameles spallanzania (Rossi, 1792). This species was present at 8 out of 9 sites surveyed on the Pelješac Peninsula (Table 1). A. spallanzania was characteristic of dry xerothermic grassland and garrigue in the study area. A. cf. decolor (Charpentier, 1825) (14 individuals, including one adult female and two adult males) was recorded at 7 sites (Table 1). Most of the specimens were recorded at sites along the coast, often on the grassy edges of stony beaches. In addition 9 uni- dentified nymhs L1–L2 Ameles sp. were swept at three sites (Divna, Duba Peljaška and Vrućica). Empusa fasciata Brullé, 1832 (16 specimens, including one adult female) was recorded at 6 sites (Table 1) in all types of habitats surveyed. Mantis religiosa Linnaeus, 1758 (15 specimens of ochre, green and reddish coloration, including 3 adult females and one adult male) was recorded at 6 sites (Table 1) in all types of habitats surveyed. The Mediterranean Mantis Iris oratoria (Linnaeus, 1758) (Fig. 2) was recorded only at one site (Kucište, Table 1), where 4 specimens of ochre colora-

Table 1. Mantodea recorded at 9 sites in Pelješac Peninsula, southern Croatia in 2013

Nr Site A. cf. decolor A. spallanzania I. oratoria M. religiosa E. fasciata 1 Baba Mtn + + 2 Divna + + + + 3 Duba Peljaška + + + 4 Gorna Vrućica + + + 5 Košarni Do + 6 Kučište + + + + + 7 Perna Bay + + + + 8 Perna camp + + 9 Donja Vrućica + + + +

Entomol. Croat. 2014, Vol. 18. Num 1–2: 7–11 J. ROMANOWSKI & M. ROMANOWSKI: Mantids (Mantodea) from Pelješac Peninsula, Southern Croatia

Fig. 2. Mediterranean Mantis Iris oratoria from Kucište, Pelješac Peninsula tion (3 subadult females and 1 subadult male) were swept in tall grasslands along the road between Perna camp and Liberan on 3 August 2013 and 8 August 2013. Four among the mantid species observed during this field study at Pelješac Peninsula (A. decolor, A. spallanzania, M. religiosa and E. fasciata ) were earlier recorded in many parts of Croatia (Kaltenbach, 1963; Agabiti et al., 2010). We are aware that some A. cf. decolor individuals following the check on the genitalia could be possibly identified asA. heldreichi. In fact macro photographs of two sub-adult males swept in coastal vegetation in Perna camp (03 August 2013) and Divna (05 August 2013) showed an apical tubercle on the eyes, characteristic for A. heldreichi rather than A. decolor (R. Battiston, personal communication). The issue of the sympatric distribution of these two species in Croatia needs further studies. Our observations of the Mediterranean Mantis represent the first exact records of this species in continental Croatia. The other exact records of I. oratoria come from the Croatian islands Brač and Korčula (Kment, 2012). It is interesting to note that in this study I. oratoria were observed only at one locality, closest to Korčula Island (approx. 1.5 km across Pelješac Channel). These three exact locations lie on the nor-

Entomol. Croat. 2014, Vol. 18. Num 1–2: 7–11 J. ROMANOWSKI & M. ROMANOWSKI: Mantids (Mantodea) from Pelješac Peninsula, Southern Croatia thern distributional limit of the species (Kment, 2012). The present finding supports the data on the establishment of local populations of I. oratoria in Dalmatia, southern Croatia.

Acknowledgements We are grateful to Dr Piotr Ceryngier for his help during preparations for the field study and remarks on the manuscript, to Mr Leszek Strebecki for his help in the field work, and to Marzenna Romanowska for drawing the map of study sites. Dr Roberto Battiston provided us with the most valuable comments on the genus Ameles.

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